Woman Charged Over Collision With Cyclists

A young woman driver will appear in court for careless driving after she allegedly ploughed into cyclists on Auckland’s Tamaki Drive, hospitalising them.

A car drove into a group of 20 riders on the harbour side road on Saturday September 26, injuring four of them, one seriously.

Witnesses at the time described the scene as one of carnage.

Police today said they have summonsed a 20 year-old woman to appear in the Auckland District Court on December 7 where she will face four charges of careless driving causing injury.

The investigation by the Auckland City District Police Serious Crash Unit is ongoing.

Auckland civil engineer Greg Paterson was most seriously hurt, hospitalised with head injuries. He was an experienced rider who had previously competed in the 160km Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge.

He was riding with a social cycling group, the Pickled Pedallers.

Another rider suffered broken vertebrae in his neck, broken ribs and facial cuts, a third came away with a broken kneecap needing surgery and the fourth man broke his collarbone, a shoulder blade and a thumb.

Tamaki Drive has been confirmed as Auckland city’s most dangerous road for cyclists.

An Auckland City Council safety analysis of the road in September confirmed five of Auckland’s nine cycle blackspots are intersections along Tamaki Drive.

Road safety spokesman councillor John Lister said more than 200,000 cycle trips were taken along Tamaki Drive in the past 11 months, making it Auckland’s busiest cycling route.

Saturday – the day of the crash – is the most popular day for cyclists to ride along Tamaki Drive, with more than 800 riders often using the road during the day in summer.

The council has said it is looking at a series of safety improvements at intersections, including an electronic trigger and sign system to highlight the presence of cyclists obscured by cars.